Fun

The digital story of the Nativity



Here is a link to the video.

Ornament Exchange

For the last couple of years we have participated in an ornament exchange with a group of homeshcoolers across the nation that use the Five In a Row curriculum.  While we are not technically using that this year, we still thew our names in for the exchange. I LOVE that curriculum.

Here are the ornaments we sent out this year.  Lots of families make ornaments based on the FIAR books, but since this is our first year to live where it snows, we made snowflakes.

This is the one we kept for our tree.

This one is from Missouri and the book Papa Piccolo. So cute.

This one is from Arizona and the book A Pair of Red Clogs. 

Lucy loved this book when we studied it. She even had a friend make her a pair of red clogs. So fun. 

This is from Ohio and the book Snowflake Bentley. I was glad we studied this one. Lucy remembered a lot from it as we've had fun in our new environment. 

This was from South Carolina and the book The Big Snow. 

We never did this book and just may have to now.

This one is from Arizona as well. A clay pumpkin from the book The Pumpkin Runner. Another great book. This is actually the book we used for the exchange last year.

There are five more that we should get soon. I'll show ya when they get here.  This is such a fun swap for us and the families are always so creative.

How about you? What's your favorite or most memorable ornament you've ever gotten?

Advent

Last year we started a new tradition in counting down the days till Christmas.  The whole purpose is to make sure we are connecting in this busy season and remembering why we are celebrating.  This year we made our countdown from toilet paper rolls the kids painted and stickered. I saw this idea last year and copied it. Here is our finished product.

Each day has an activity for us to do as a family. This year, our schedule is a bit different as Thursdays Mike works late. So the girls and I set off to make cookies last night as a treat for daddy when he got home.

Stinky Pete, as usual, is fabulously dressed for the occasion. 

This is a long standing tradition with Meema, smashing cookies and adding sprinkles. 

 Success!

Some of our other Advent activities include some new things this year like building a snow man and ice skating. We are loving experiencing a real winter here! I LOVE this advent calendar. We may try to make it next year, and here is a good idea list if you need some help to get the creative juices flowing.  Happy counting!

Black Friday

For this first time ever I got to participate in Black Friday this year. And I will confess that it was fun! I got some good deals are we are about set for Christmas this year.  Our family has chosen to give one big family gift to each other and spend the rest of our time energy and cash on others.  We do birthdays pretty big and want for Christmas to be a time where we really focus in on Jesus.

I posted this video a couple of years ago and the new one last year. Advent Conspiracy did not make another one this year but I still think this is so great.  As we enter the holiday season, may you be blessed and encouraged as you remember the real reason for the season.



Here is a link to the video.

Merry Christmas!

Out of the mouth of cartoons! haha

Here is a link to see the video.

May you know His peace and feel His favor and presence now and all through 2010.

Merry Christmas!

Advent

This year we made an advent calendar. I cut some red and green construction paper in half and made 24 cones. Then printed out and glued on some numbers, punched holes and strung them. In each cone I put a family activity to do together and stuffed it with some tissue paper.

The girls have LOVED reading what we will do together each day. This will be a new tradition now I'm sure.

Today's card said we had to dress fancy for dinner. He we are in our finest using my beautiful china my parents gave me.

It was so much fun to get all dressed up for dinner. The girls had a great time. We had yummy pork chops with bacon potato salad, smashed cauliflower, cream cheese rolls and sparkling apple cider. Then for dessert we had ice cream and some fun iced cookies from Publix.

This was the best we could for Mike and I. Hahaha

Those are some of the cards in the cones and here is a list of all the family things we are doing this month;

1 Cookies and milk with Santa

2 Make Christmas cards

3 Make Christmas cookies

4 Sing Christmas songs

5 Puppet bedtime stories

6 Watch a Christmas movie

7 Breakfast for dinner

8 Give everyone crazy hairstyles

9 Make Christmas ornaments

10 String popcorn

11 Go to a Christmas party

12 Have a picnic dinner

13 See a Christmas show

14 Read Christmas stories

15 Dress fancy for dinner

16 Take family pictures

17 Dance to Christmas music

18 Hangout at Downtown Disney

19 Have ice cream with all the fixins'

20 Have a scavenger hunt

21 paint every ones toenails

22 go look at Christmas lights

23 have hot chocolate with all the fixins'

24 go Christmas caroling

This is such a fun way to countdown to the birth of Jesus as well as make sure we are spending quality family time in this hectic season. Here, here and here are some great ideas for advent calendars. Oh and one more. Happy counting!

Holiday Eating Tips

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare.. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Black Friday

You may remember me posting this great video last year. They have made a new one. I love it. Here is a link.

Wanna show some love?

A friend of a friend named Dianna Harrison Biorkman has a 5-year-old son in his last stages of a 2 1/2 year battle with neuroblastoma cancer. They are celebrating Christmas next weekend and Noah loves Christmas cards. Would you be willing to please take a minute to send a card to him? Here is his address:

Noah Biorkman

1141 Fountain View Circle

South Lyon, MI 48178.

Lets get a ton to him! Thank you so much!

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40

Gifts we think we dont want

I totaly stole this blog from here - but it blessed me so, I had to share.

I came across this quote in one of my Advent devotional books (Watch for the Light) the other day and it made me stop and think:

This is often the way God loves us: with gifts we thought we didn't need, which transform us into people we don't necessarily want to be.

~William Willamon, on December 14

I really do want to be transformed into a person who reflects Jesus to the world around me, so I'm not sure about the second part of that quote. But I do agree that the ways in which God molds and shapes me and loves me are often through circumstances I'd rather do without.

And yet.

The hardest times in my life have been the sweetest gifts God has given me. Because the heartache and turmoil and pain and sorrow was worth the growth and intimacy with him that came from it. I can say with certainty (knowing myself--and my mother would agree) that I would not have learned some of those same lessons if the circumstances hadn't been so extreme. Often hard lessons are the ones we learn best.

So why have I been resisting the circumstances I've found myself in lately?

In a weird way, it's been familiar and even oddly comfortable to be back in a place of total dependence, of desperation, of crying out to God for his mercy and love and presence. Though the circumstances are different, the center of these circumstances is a safe place I've been before. 

What would happen if we regarded our hardships, our trials, our disappointments as gifts? Gifts from a faithful and loving Father for our good, not for our harm. Gifts to give us a future and a hope. Gifts to transform us into the image of his Son, whom he loves.

Thanks for sharing your heart Joanne.

12 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Story

12 Things You Might Not Know About A Christmas Story (even though you’ve seen it 90 times) by Stacy Conradt.

Which Oscar-winning star wanted to play Ralphie’s dad? Which actor went on to a seedy career in the adult film industry? Can you really get your tongue stuck to a metal pole? Here are a few tidbits to tide you over until the 24-hour Christmas Eve marathon on TBS.

1. Jack Nicholson was very interested in playing Ralphie’s dad. But casting (and paying) Jack would have meant doubling the budget, so he was removed from consideration. Director Bob Clark – who didn’t know Nicholson was interested at the time – says Darrin McGavin was the perfect choice, and I’d have to agree. I think Jack would have been too much of a scene-stealer.

2. What does Porky’s, the raunchy ’80s teen sex movie, have to do with a wholesome film like A Christmas Story? Bob Clark directed both – Porky’s in 1982 and A Christmas Story in 1983. If Porky’s hadn’t given him the professional and financial success he needed, he wouldn’t have been able to bring A Christmas Story to the big screen.

3. For anyone keeping count, Ralphie says he wants the Red Ryder BB Gun 28 times throughout the course of the movie. That’s approximately once every three minutes and 20 seconds.

4. Peter Billingsley, AKA Ralphie, has been good friends with Vince Vaughn since they both appeared in the CBS Schoolbreak Special (their version of the after-school special) in the early ’90s. He doesn’t do much acting these days, but he did make a surprise appearance on the “Vince Vaughn Wild West Comedy Show” in Memphis, Tenn., in 2005. Peter’s doing quite well for himself, though. He was the executive producer of Iron Man and had a brief bit as William Ginter Riva – I’ve seen Iron Man twice, but I can’t place his character. I’ll have to go back and look. Peter also executive produced Vince’s latest movie, Four Christmases (which he also had a cameo in), as well as 2006’s The Break-Up.

5. Mythbusters tested whether it was possible to get your tongue truly stuck on a piece of cold metal. Guess what? It is. So don’t triple dog dare your best friend to try it.

6. Scott Schwartz, who played Flick (who stuck his tongue to the frozen flagpole), was submerged in the adult film industry for a number of years. He got out in 2000 to try to become a mainstream actor again, but I can’t say he’s done much of note: Community College (“A love story between four dudes and their ability to get free drinks”) and Skinwalker, which starred ex-MTV veejay Jesse Camp, if that tells you anything. Joey Buttafuoco is in it, too, and gets billing over our poor Flick. Sad.

7. Next time you’re in Cleveland, you can visit the original house from the movie for only $7.50. It was sold on eBay in 2004 for $150,000. Collector Brian Jones bought the house and restored it to its movie glory and stocked it up with some of the original props from the film, including Randy’s snowsuit.

8. Director Bob Clark got the idea for the movie when he was driving in the car with a date. He heard Jean Shepherd on the radio doing a reading of his short story collection, “In God We Trust… All Others Pay Cash,” which included some bits that eventually ended up in A Christmas Story. Clark said he drove around the block for an hour until the program ended, which his date was not too happy about.

9. The Wonder Years was inspired by A Christmas Story. In fact, in one of the last few episodes, Peter Billingsley appeared as one of Kevin Arnold’s roommates.
10. The real Red Ryder BB Gun was first made in 1938 and was named after a comic strip cowboy. You can still buy it today for the low, low price of $44.99. But the original wasn’t quite the same as the one in the movie – it lacked the compass and sundial that both the Jean Shepard story and the movie call for. Special versions had to be made just for A Christmas Story.

11. While we’re talking shopping – you know you want the leg lamp. Put it in your window! Be the envy of your neighbors! It’s a Major Award! You can buy it here, but if you’re not feeling quite so flamboyant you can get a replica that serves as a nightlight for $14.99. The people who own the house also run a gift shop, and they sell pretty much everything you could possibly want from the movie – the decoder pin ($7.99), Lifebuoy soap ($3.99), the leg lamp variants mentioned above, and even pieces of the original house.

12. There are two little-talked about sequels. The first one was a 1988 made-for-TV movie, Ollie Hopnoodle’s Haven of Bliss. Jerry O’Connell played 14-year-old Ralphie, who is excited about his first job – a furniture mover. Of course, it ends up being awful, and it might make him miss the annual family vacation at Mr. Hopnoodle’s lakeside cabins.My Summer Story, AKA It Runs in the Family, debuted on the big screen in 1994. Kieran Culkin plays Ralphie, Mary Steenburgen is his mom, and Charles Grodin is his dad. I’m not sure if it’s because of this movie or A Christmas Story, but whenever our trio of dogs are running around in a pack, my husband always yells, “It’s the Bumpus Hounds!”

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Don’t shoot your eye out (kid).

Thank you mentalfloss.com!

Ornament exchange

I read the Siesta Fiesta Blog and we did an ornament exchange this year. Is has been so fun getting to know a fellow sister in Christ. Also, I have to admit who doesn't love getting a package in the mail? My siesta Jodie, sent me the sweetest 2 ornaments.




I love them! They are so cute. The pics are a little blurry, but there is a jingle bell in the middle of each one (which my girls love!). It is so neat to meet her and now think of her every year as we hang them on the tree. You can check out her blog, dark between the stars, here. She has an adorable family! This was so fun! Thank you so much Jodie!! Merry Christmas!

Police Never Die

Merry Christmas eberyone and a Happy New Jear.



For those of you who get this via email, here is a link to check the video out.

Nativity

We had such a great Thanksgiving in NC with my family. The girls played and played and then cried and cried when we had to leave. What a blessing a big back yard is! We have all come down with colds now - well, except Mike. But I guess that's what happens with a week of very little sleep. Tuesday night when we got back, we had dinner with my mom and the girls helped decorate her Christmas tree - a favorite tradition. Then mom gave Mike and I our Christmas present early. She just back from Israel a week or so ago and she bought us a nativity scene, hand carved of olive wood made in Bethlehem. The star is also a music box! I have always wanted a pretty nativity scene, but haven't ever found one I really liked that I could afford. This one is so beautiful! What an wonderful gift to start off this Christmas season with! Thanks mom!

Black Friday

Mike posted this earlier on his blog and I thing it is worth another look.